Mitchell, Monckton to miss Rio qualifiers

Australia will be without veteran gymnast Lauren Mitchell in their last-ditch bid to qualify for the Olympics as she continues her recovery from injury.

Mitchell had surgery on her knee last year and was not named in the Australian women's artistic gymnastics team to travel to Rio for the final qualification and test event, and the preceding Pacific Rim Championships in the US.

The 24-year-old spent the past week training in Canberra at a selection trial but head coach Peggy Liddick said she was not ready.

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"If we had another four or five weeks, she might have snuck her way on the team - she looked really good in the trial," she said on Tuesday.

"She came knowing she wasn't going to get selected, but to try her fitness level out and she surprised me on her level of progress."

Liddick said Mitchell's Olympic dream was not over, with the final team trials at the national championships in May.

But first the team has to qualify.

They need to finish inside the top four at the Olympic test event, held from April 16-18, after failing to secure a spot at the world championships last year.